Aurora Nights
by Vampyre Heartbreak
Summary: RenRuki, T for language. He had to force himself to stay away, because the star and the dog were not meant to be. Complete. EternalDream's FLOL Christmas present! :D


So, this is my first RenRuki fic ever, and its also **EternalDream**'s FLOL Christmas gift. I hope I didn't bore you too much, ED-chan, and that I didn't butcher this favorite pairing of your's. XD

Disclaimer applied, you know it. ;D

P.S. Sorry about the lame, dorky title. Was all I could think of. XDD

* * *

--Part One--

"You're an idiot."

Renji glared down at the tangerine-headed student from his position in the tree. "What'd you say?"

Ichigo matched his glare. "I _said, _you're an idiot."

Renji scowled at him. "Go away, brat."

"Not until you do something," the orange-haired substitute shinigami sounded remarkably calm; maybe finally pulling his head out of his ass and starting to date Inoue had paid off.

"Do something about _what_?" Renji barked out, frustrated, though it wasn't entirely aimed at Ichigo. Most of the frustration concerned a doll-like girl with raven black hair and violet eyes and the punch of a two-hundred pound, drunken _royally pissed-off _man.

"That!" Now Ichigo looked slightly frustrated, and Renji felt a brief stab of pleasure at the thought. Scowling that infamous scowl, Ichigo jerked a thumb at the back of the very thing that had been plaguing Renji's thoughts for what seemed like decades.

And probably had been, for that matter.

"Don't you _see_?" Ichigo asked him, voice louder, and probably not just to be heard.

"If I _did_, would I be paining myself with this pointless conversation?" Renji shot back caustically.

Now Ichigo's fist clenched and Renji felt another vindictive stab of pleasure. "I thought you of all people would get what's wrong with her."

"There's nothing wrong with Rukia," Renji muttered resentfully. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Idiot." He left and turned back to walk back to his waiting girlfriend.

--Part Two--

A week late they were back in the Soul Society, and Renji was immediately thrust back into the role of being the sixth division lieutenant and didn't have a chance to have any more awkward, shared glances with the girl that his heart did funny things at the thought of.

Rukia on the hand was busy helping out Ukitake-taichou. After Kiyone had been killed during the war against Aizen, the raven-haired shinigami had started to help out, unofficially as her brother's ban on her being a seated officer was still in effect.

Renji was thankful, though. He was painfully aware of the fact that Rukia was too far out of his league, and that fact caused his chest to hurt uncomfortably. Though, as he had discovered, if he didn't see her and didn't think about her (every waking minute), his chest ache eased slightly.

Sitting under a tree in the deserted courtyard of division six, suitably inebriated with a half-empty bottle of alcohol beside him, he finally felt somewhat relaxed, taut muscles liquidized and chest ache almost unnoticeable. He studied the fucking picture perfect starry sky above him, trying to remember why he hated it so much. Maybe it was the fact that it never changed. The stars were almost the same brightness, same size, and in the same position, with no moon.

Yes, he decided a moment later blearily. That had to be it. The sky in the human world was always changing, night after night. Different stars, constellations, brightness, and positions.

And the moon. Renji had spent nights just watching that fucking disk. It was ridiculous, his fascination with it, but after centuries of not having one to look at, he couldn't help but admire it from the roof of the shoten.

And it didn't help that Rukia looked fucking beautiful in the moonlight.

Gritting his teeth as the chest ache throbbed spitefully, Renji grasped the neck of the bottle pressed against his thigh and lifted it to his lips. Tilting his head back, the sour liquid flowed down his throat and after a few moments the ache receded. Placing the now mostly empty bottle back on the ground, Renji let his head thump back against the comforting hard wood of the tree as his eyes closed.

--Part Three--

"Renji?"

_Not her, _Renji groaned at the incredulous feminine voice directly in front of him. "Renji, I know you're awake."

"No, I'm not," he muttered resentfully, turning his head to the side stubbornly.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you- Oh to hell with this," Rukia sighed as a tiny, deadly little foot dug into his calf.

Renji shot up, glaring at the petite Kuchiki out of bloodshot crimson eyes. "Would you mind _not _kicking me when I'm hungover?"

"Your own fault for getting drunk, idiot" she retorted immediately, arms crossed. "And do you mind telling me why you're passed out drunk in the Sixth courtyard?"

"None of your business," he muttered resentfully, grimacing at the wet coldness of the pants of his shihakusho. Apparently, he had knocked over the almost empty bottle of liquor, causing it to leak onto his pants. Perfect. "And why are you here? Don't you have some business to take care of in your own goddamned company instead of bothering me?"

Rukia took a step back, violet eyes wide, hurt flashing through them. Renji hated that look and, suddenly, himself for causing that look.

"Look, I'm…I'm sorry, alright? I'm pissy when hungover," he offered as an apology, avoiding her gaze.

Rukia scoffed, trying not to show her hurt. "Oh, please. You think that pathetic excuse for an insult bothered me?" Renji had to smile at her almost condescending attitude. "And I'm here to see my Nii-sama. You know, _your captain?_"

Renji winced. Kuchiki-taichou would be pissed if he knew that his lieutenant had gotten drunk and passed out in the courtyard for all to see. The last thing he wanted to do again was scrub out all of the companies latrines with a rag. "Hey, uh, could we possibly keep this between us?"

Rukia studied him intently for a few minutes with speculative violet eyes. "Only if I can get something in return."

Renji sighed; his plan was staying away from her suddenly didn't look like it was going too well. "What?'

"Dinner."

"I'm not going to date you Rukia." _No matter how much I want to. _

"I wasn't asking you out, idiot!" She snapped defensively, flushing. 'I meant as friends. We used to do it all the time, didn't we?"

"Well, yeah…" He admitted reluctantly.

"Good. See you Friday at our restaurant," she tossed him a smirk that reminded him too damned much of that orange-haired idiot before her shoulder-length hair disappeared into a room.

Renji stared at the closed door for a moment after. "I am such a masochist."

-Part Four-

Had restaurants always been this intimidating?

Renji stared at the plain building before him, the chest ache a sleeping dragon at the moment. The old building was as familiar to him as the old worn kimono that he still had in his quarters; a symbol of his time in Inuzuri.

It was a simple, square building with inordinate decorations, though the food, while simple, had a strong tendency to be better than the food the chefs could make. Back then he and She-Who-Could-Not-Be-Named had come frequently during the occasional off-day when they were in the academy.

Squaring his shoulders and sighing, Renji strode into the less-than-crowded restaurant, slowly searching out the familiar bob of the woman who held his heart, albeit unknowingly. She was tucked away into their favorite booth in the corner; a small, dingy thing that they had chosen every time that they had managed to get it.

Renji wove his way through the mess of mismatched table, different sizes, shapes, and number of chairs, and slid into the booth across from Rukia.

"You made it." She sounded surprised.

"You didn't think I would?" He grunted in response.

"Well, no, actually," she admitted. The look he shot her must have looked like surprise. "You've been such an ass lately, I thought you would go ahead and skip this just to smite me or something." She explained, shrugging her small shoulders.

"It would have been a dumb thing to do. Your brother is my captain after all," Renji replied, vaguely resentful. Then he paused. "And I haven't been an ass."

Rukia snorted in that ladylike way of her's. "Oh, please. You've been almost as big of an ass as Ichigo."

"Don't compare me to him," Renji almost growled.

She waved a hand at him, unoffended. "See what I mean?"

Arms crossed, he glowered indignantly at her. "So why am I here?"

She blinked those damned violet eyes at him. "I can't ask my friend out for dinner?"

"Well, no," he amended wearily, leaning back. "But you haven't recently."

"So?" She challenged, eyes flashing. "We've both been busy."

"Oh yeah. How's that whole 'getting-your-brother's-order-revoked- thing going?" It was cruel perhaps, but Renji had not wanted to come, and he certainly _did not want to see her. _Rukia adopted a look of hurt, all big violet eyes and a wounded expression. It looked vaguely reminiscent of Inoue, who was so gentle and kind, the slightest careless remark could invoke that same damned look.

"It's going _fine_, no thanks to you," she snapped back, wounded look gone and replaced by a waspish look that he knew instinctively was her defensive look.

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Renji retorted, matching her glare with the same amount of ferocity.

"Oh, I don't know. You're only his _lieutenant_. Stupid me for thinking you could actually _say_ something to him, instead of just licking his boots like the meek little mutt you are," she snarled back, tiny hands fisting into tiny, deadly fists.

The absolute venom in her voice caused him to pause and she leapt upon it. "I don't know what has caused this little hissy fit, but whatever it is, I suggest you get over it, because its starting to piss me and everyone who knows you off. And I suggest it soon before you mysteriously wind up cleaning latrines until their sparkling and your toothbrush doesn't exist." She continued, almost baring her teeth at him.

With Renji successfully told off, she got to her feet and flashed him one last feral smile. "Oh, and by the way Renji." He glanced up at her, still silent. "Fuck you." And then she sauntered out with all of the dignity she could muster.

Renji stared after her, having almost forgotten how violent Rukia when angered could be.

_Well, damn. _

-Part Five-

A week later, they still weren't speaking and it was beginning to grate on Renji's nerves. Somehow it seemed so much better when he was the one doing the avoiding, instead of _her_ avoiding _him. _It was all vaguely insulting, to be honest.

Though she hadn't gone to her brother yet, which meant that Kuchiki-taichou was still treating him with a small amount of courtesy. Which meant the latrines were still filthy and his toothbrush intact. Thankfully.

"I'm such a fucking idiot." He sighed, thumping his head back against the light wood of the shoji door frame.

"Renji-kun, is there a reason why your belittling yourself in such a way?" A sweet voice that was remarkably familiar asked him, and he opened his eyes to meet warm brown ones.

"Inoue? What are you doing here?" He asked her in faint surprise. The pretty human smiled encouragingly at him, and after a moment he realized that she was wearing the standard shihakusho.

"Ichigo-kun had another training session here, and he asked me to come along," she explained cheerfully, sitting down beside him with her knees tucked up under her. "Did you do something to upset Rukia-chan?" She asked him with another gentle smile.

"The idiot does realize that we have our own healers, right?" Renji muttered under his breath, avoiding Orihime's question.

"He knows. But I think he thinks that the fourth company is a little too pushy, to be honest," she replied, humoring him.

Renji considered that momentarily before shrugging. "How did you know that I was the cause of Rukia's anger?"

Orihime smiled again, brown eyes shining with mischief. "When I was doing homework with Ichigo-kun, she erupted through the window yelling something about 'that damned redhead.' It wasn't hard to figure out from there," she explained warmly, sounding vaguely amused.

"I see," he murmured absently, silently appreciating the fact that Orihime wasn't at all like her boyfriend and didn't push at all, merely offering a mediating presence that he sorely needed. "I really screwed up, huh?"

The auburn-haired girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't really know, Renji-kun. What happened?"

He hesitated for a moment before realizing who it was he was talking to. Orihime could keep a secret, if it was important enough. With another sigh, Renji began to explain to her how exactly he had screwed up so badly.

A few minutes later, she still hadn't run off and was instead shooting him an empathetic, not sympathetic, look. "Well, you certainly did make her angry," she told him finally, thoughtfully.

Renji was startled into a laugh at Orihime's blatant attempt at kindness, without sounding accusatory or angry. _Was it even possible for her to get angry? _He wondered absently to himself. "So did I screw up or what?"

"Well," she balanced her words carefully. "You haven't told me why you were acting so rude to Rukia-chan."

"Because…" he trailed off hesitantly, hand clenching into a tight fist at his side. "Because she's still a star and I'm nothing more than a lowly dog!"

"…What?" She asked a moment later in confusion, eyes widened slightly.

"Nothing," Renji sighed, letting his head thump back against the wood. "So any ideas on how I can fix this?"

"You could always apologize," she offered kindly. "Or perhaps make or send her something you know she likes. I know she really likes romance novels."

"Oi, Orihime!" The distinctive voice of the orange-haired idiot was heard distantly then. "Where are you?"

"Oh, coming!" She called back, visibly brightening, getting to her feet and dusting off the pants of her undoubtedly borrowed shihakusho. "It was great to see you Renji-kun, and tell Rukia-chan I said hello, okay?" She told the red-haired lieutenant cheerfully, before running after the voice. There was a distinct crash that let him know that Inoue's clumsiness kicked in and she had undoubtedly crashed into something. He hoped it wasn't something expensive.

Calling back a cheerful affirmative that she was alright, the sound of her bare feet faded into silence. Renji closed his eyes, and wondered over Orihime's advice. After deciding that his groveling could start tomorrow, he clambered to his feet and went in search of the alcohol.

He felt like getting smashed.

--Part Six-

As it turns out, finding Rukia was easier in theory than in action. Renji spent the next two days trying to track down the diminutive sneak, to no avail. He searched everywhere for her, and asked all of her friends if they'd seen her.

The responses had been varying degrees of unhelpful.

In desperation, he went to Kuchiki-taichou who finally gave him a cool, "She's here," before closing the door quite firmly in his face, because the asshole was too aristocratic to slam a door.

_Stubborn bastard, _he thought bitterly as he retreated to his own quarters. _Now I remember why I don't like you. _

The one time he actually wanted to apologize and he couldn't even get a hold of the girl he wanted to say said apology _to. _

Irony, much?

--Part Seven--

Rukia's ignoring him continued on for a while longer and it was beginning to grate on his nerves, which showed.

During the imposed silence, his temper became shorter (this became apparent when more paperwork was placed onto his desk and he all but snarled at the poor unseated officer), his fighting fiercer (this became apparent when his attack with Zabimaru knocked Ikkaku clear through five buildings in Eleventh), and his language became more foul (this became apparent when he got disapproving looks from five, count 'em five, captains, during a meeting.)

As a result, he was now spending more time than ever in Eleventh, taking his frustrations out on the innocent members. A part of him felt guilty, but if he didn't fight until he was exhausted, the chances of him getting in trouble were significantly higher.

And late one night when he was suitably banged-up and every muscles was hating him, there was a knock at his door. "Come in!" He called lazily, not wanting to move.

"Abarai, is my sister here?" The cool, collected voice of his captain had him lurching upright, staring at his unruffled, calm persona of Kuchiki Byakuya.

"No. Should she be?" Renji asked, faintly worried as he noticed that his captain was noticeably more tense than normal.

Byakuya was silent for a few seconds. "Rukia has not been home for several hours, and she is not in Thirteen barracks. This was my next logical choice."

"Well, she isn't here." Renji told him. "Are you sure that she didn't run off to the world of the living?"

Byakuya shook his head infinitesimally. "All of the hell butterflies have been accounted for."

"Hmmm…then I don't know." Renji shrugged.

"Abarai."

"All right, all right. I have an idea, I'll go check there." Renji yawned, stretching out stiff muscles.

"Very well. I'll stay here to make sure one of her friends isn't hiding her," Byakuya nodded before turning smoothly on his heel and walking out of the room. The door closed with a quiet snap behind him.

--Finale--

Inuzuri had always had a smell to it, Renji thought as his feet crunched the dead grass at his feet. Like death and rotted fruit and malice. Not at all like Soul Society, which always smelled like nothing.

The place he was headed for was just inside Inuzuri boundaries. It was an old, gnarled tree that they'd always been surprised hadn't cracked under their weight as they climbed it. It had at first been all of them, as they would sometimes play on it before falling asleep under the long, thick branch that drooped to the ground. With a blanket thrown over it and a blanket to rest it, it was rather warm.

It was a logical choice for Rukia to come there, seeing as they both had fond memories of the dead old tree, if it was still there.

It was late and chilly; his breath fogged in front of him. Instead of shunpo-ing, which would have taken less time, Renji walked, enjoying the memories that swept up into his conscious, even the less than pleasant ones. Only a few hundred feet away near the cliff was the burial of their long-deceased friends, and he mentally made a vow to bring flowers to their graves soon. It was, after all, the least he could do.

Sure enough, as he neared the tree, his eyes picked up the faintest hint of campfire light and his pace quickened without him realizing it. As he continued to near it, he noticed the small figure tucked into the nook of the branch and trunk connecting. His first instinct was to yell and ask if she was cold, but then the flickering firelight caught the mismatched strands of fur, and then he realized she was wearing a coat.

A fur coat, to be exact. The first (and last) one he and their friends ever made.

It was an itchy, smelly old thing compiled of the pelts of many different small animals when they were able to catch and skin them. They had gotten the idea in their heads that Rukia was cold during the night, and so resolved to make her a fur coat to 'keep her warmer.'

The thing had as many holes as pelts.

He couldn't help but try to figure out why she was wearing that thing, of all of the nice things she now had access to.

Finally, he was closer enough to touch the branch she was sitting on and he did, standing close to her. "Fine night for a disappearance, huh?" He commented casually.

"Shut up, Renji," she rolled her eyes but a small smile was present in the flickering glow.

"So what are you doing out here?" Renji asked a moment later, staring at the black horizon.

Rukia hunched deeper into her fur coat. "I heard a rumor that there was going to be an aurora tonight."

"A what?"

"You know, the Northern Lights." She gave up at his blank look. "Never mind, you idiot. It was obviously not true."

"Well, if its not true, can we go home? I'm freezing my ass off here," he asked.

She was silent for a few contemplative moments. "Just a little while longer, alright?"

"Okay," he agreed a moment too late, reclining against the gnarled trunk of the tree. "So why are you wearing that ratty old thing?"

Her small shoulders shrugged. "I like it more."

"Really? Why?"

"Because you guys made it for me. You didn't buy it for me to make me look pretty or to show off our wealth. You made it because you thought I needed it." She explained, tucking the ratty edges around her tighter against the cold wind.

"Lot of help it did," Renji commented, sticking a callused finger into a hole and poking her skin. "This thing has enough holes to sink a ship."

"It's still the point," she snapped, brushing off his finger. "How did you know I would be here?"

"You're a creature of habit, Rukia. Whenever something's bothering you, you disappear to somewhere familiar that only a few people know about," he explained, arms crossed over his chest tightly to preserve warmth.

"Oh." She averted her gaze to the branch she was perched on momentarily before her violet eyes flicked to the redhead beside her. "So, do you want to tell me why you've been acting like such a bastard lately?"

"No." His tone was curt, and she nearly growled in frustration. The silence between them stretched on several long minutes, before Renji let out a frustrated sigh. "Because your still a star, and I'm still a dog."

She stared at him for several long minutes. "…What?"

He ran a hand over his face in a clear sign of frustration. "I just mean that your freaking nobility, and I'm just a commoner; a dog."

She studied him contemplatively for several long minutes. "Have I told you that you're an idiot lately?"

"No," he admitted wryly.

"Oh. Well, you're a complete idiot."

"What? It's true." He defended agitatedly. "Your just too far out of my reach now."

"Idiot," she reiterated before launching at the redhead, tackling him.

"Whoa, Rukia! What're-"

"Shut up," she cut him, fisting his hands into his hair and yanking his lips up to her's. He froze under her for a moment until she shoved her tongue into his mouth.

Then he grasped her shoulders and pushed her back. "Rukia, what are you doing?"

"I told you were an idiot," she gave him a quick, fierce kiss. "Don't forget that I was once a dog just like you."

"But-But…what about Kuchiki-taichou?" he protested, defenses quickly crumbling as she kissed him again, almost smothering him again with her lips.

"Nii-sama won't be able to stop me," Rukia told him. "Now shut up and kiss me, fool."

And he did.

* * *

This kicked my ass, and I hope you liked it, ED.

Now, I shall go hide in whatever hole I can find because I don't think I can write RenRuki well. XD

Please review, new fandom? -bats eyes-

-Vampyre Heartbreak

P.S. Copper-sama is amazing. She told me that I had to put this in here. XDD But it's still true, wifey-chama!


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